The dark days of Maze
by Anonymous Crazy Girl
Summary: Mazikeen returns to Lucifer's penthouse only to find a very unpleasant surprise waiting for her there, which leads her to realize that her dark days aren't completely over... {Post Season 4, contains spoilers}


Maze found it extremely funny and ironic how she was striving to have a normal life on Earth with her little family and at the same time she found herself involved in the most extraordinary situations. Like fighting a bunch of demons that had revolted against Lucifer and tried to make their own king a newborn baby, the son of Amenadiel and Linda, a half angel, Lucifer's nephew and a baby she had sworn to protect at any cost. They were doomed to fail from the very beginning of it.

Now she just needed to make sure none of her fellow demons wouldn't try anything funny again. If they tried to set foot on Earth again, she would be the very first person they meet. And that wouldn't end well by any means. Whoever messed with Maze's family had to pay the price afterwards. This was a game played under her own rules.

With Lucifer's orders, the demons had returned back to where they belonged, hell. Baby Charlie had returned back to his parents safely; Maze made sure of it before she headed to the penthouse to let Lucifer know that his nephew was safe and sound. Stepping out of the elevator, Maze was met by silence but not obsolete. She could listen to some incoherent sobbing somewhere in the distance but she wasn't really sure of what to expect.

"Lucifer?" she called out as she walked inside, her heels clicking on the floor. She received no response. Instead, the sobbing continued but Maze was now convinced it belonged to a woman. She looked around to find Chloe curled up on the floor near the balcony, crying her eyes out. She seemed to have trouble breathing too.

"Chloe!" Maze exclaimed and she rushed to her side, kneeling down next to her. "What happened to you? Why are you crying? Where's Lucifer?"

Chloe didn't seem to be responding at first. Too many questions and the answers all too painful. Maze's heart was beating fast under her chest. She helped the detective get off the floor. It took a good amount of time to finally calm her down, and even then she seemed pretty upset. The demon managed to get her friend to the couch. Maze offered her some of Lucifer's finest whiskey; they didn't have any water but she felt like alcohol would be more helpful in this situation.

"Are you alright?" Maze asked and Chloe shook her head. It was obvious that she wasn't but Maze needed to make sure she was calm enough to speak to her. "Where's Lucifer?"

"He's…He's gone…" Chloe managed to choke out, her voice coming out hoarse, her lips trembling.

"What do you mean he's 'gone'? Where did he go? I swear, if he fled again to Las Vegas, I will personally-"

"He returned back to hell," Chloe interrupted her, her voice still shaky.

Maze froze. Lucifer went back to hell? Without telling anyone about it? That was absolutely insane! There was no way he would leave like that, not after everything they've been through. And especially not without taking Mazikeen with him as he had promised. She refused to believe her at first. She looked at the detective as if she had completely lost her mind. She wouldn't blame her if she had, she had seen way too much within the last twenty four hours.

"Are you sure that-"

"Yes, I'm sure." Chloe shook her head. "I saw him. He opened his wings and then… Gone!"

The detective started crying again but Maze was at a loss of words. Besides, she was certain that there was no words that could bring comfort to Chloe Decker at that particular moment.

"Did he tell you why?" Maze asked softly after she made sure that Chloe had calmed down a bit.

"To prevent something like what happened to day occur in the future," said Chloe. "Because I am Lucifer's first love, according to the prophecy, and not Eve. The demons, he said, they need a king to rule them. Otherwise, hell will come to Earth."

Everything made absolute sense now. That was such a Lucifer thing to do. Yet it was still sudden, just like the last time he had disappeared and returned from Vegas with a wife.

"Shit, Chloe. I don't know what to say," Maze murmured.

"I can't believe that… he would leave just like that," The detective sobbed. "After everything we've been through, I just…"

"He did what he thought was best to keep you safe," said Maze in confidence. She knew just how selfless Lucifer became when the subject revolved around Chloe Decker. "I'm sure if he could have done otherwise, he would have."

Chloe simply shook her head in despair. This would be a wound that would need a lot of time to heal up completely, if ever. But right now, she didn't need to be around Lucifer's penthouse when the memories were still fresh.

"Come on, let's get you outta here," Maze said before helping Chloe back on her feet and lead her to the elevator. The detective gave the penthouse a quick glance before it disappeared behind the lift's closing doors. Downstairs the bar was also quiet and empty, which was pretty unusual for 'Lux'. But without its owner, Maze feared that this place would remain dull for the rest of its days. It pained her to see it like that. But right now it didn't really matter. She would think of a plan later.

They waited outside for a cab when it started drizzling. Maze rolled her eyes. If this was His way of making things more dramatic than they already were, then she was convinced that God had no sense of humor. Thankfully, they weren't soaking wet when the taxi arrived. But then another problem arouse when the driver asked where to take them. Maze thought quickly. The sensible thing to do was take Decker back to her place but right now this didn't seem like a good option. She didn't know where else to take her so she gave the driver Linda and Amenadiel's address. Chloe didn't protest; she seemed to be completely lost.

The cab dropped them outside Linda's place and Maze paid the driver before dragging the detective with her. Only then did Chloe realize that this wasn't her house.

"Why are we here?" she asked Maze.

"Do you want your offspring to see you like that?" Maze inquired. "Yeah, I thought so."

"She's alone at home…"

"I'll take care of it," Maze promised. "I'll tell Dan to go over and check on her. Happy?"

Chloe nodded. "Thank you," she whispered.

Maze knocked on the door and Amenadiel answered it. "Maze? You're back already?" he sounded surprised.

"We've got a situation," she replied loosely. "Can we come in?"

"We?" Amenadiel asked and Maze motioned behind her at the detective. "Oh, come in. It's cold outside." He stepped aside for them to walk in.

"Amenadiel? Who is it?" came Linda's voice. She walked in the living room rocking baby Charlie in her arms.

"It's Maze and Chloe," the angel responded. "Please, have a sit."

"Thank you Amenadiel, but I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be here," Chloe murmured. "After everything that happened with Charlie, you need some peace and quiet."

"Nonsense." Linda smiled. "He's already asleep, see? I'm going to put him back in his crib and I'll be right back," she added before heading back to the bedroom.

"What happened?" Amenadiel asked. "No offense Chloe, but you don't look so well."

"Lucifer left," Maze growled.

Amenadiel looked bewildered. "What do you mean he left?"

"That he opened his angel wings and slacked off, that's what I mean!"

"Keep it down, will you?" Amenadiel scolded her. "Is this true?" he turned to Chloe.

"Yes, it is." Chloe nodded, trying to avoid his gaze. "He went back to hell?"

"But why?" the angel asked. "I thought he was happy here. He didn't want to leave. Heck, I didn't want to leave. What happened?"

"It's the prophecy, Amenadiel," said Maze.

"The prophecy? What prophecy?" Amenadiel asked.

"The one that says that when Lucifer walks the Earth and meets his first love, hell shall be released." Maze had to roll her eyes for the second time that night for she had to state what she thought to be the obvious. "I'm surprised you didn't know about the prophecy, Amenadiel."

"There are many prophecies out there, I couldn't be sure to which one you referred to," he defended. "But I still don't understand. Isn't Eve Lucifer's first love?"

Maze winced at the mention of her name. She had momentarily forgotten about her and the reminder was just as painful. "Apparently, no. It was never Eve, it's always been Chloe. The demons need a king to rule over them. Otherwise, they will keep coming up in Earth to spread chaos. And with the birth of Charlie, it makes sense, doesn't it? If Lucifer wouldn't return, they would pursue after him again."

Amenadiel understood. "I'm so sorry, Chloe. I know you and Lucifer were… close."

"Thank you, Amenadiel," she whispered.

"I'm sorry that I brought her here on such short notice," Maze said quietly at him. "But it wouldn't be good for Trixie to see her like that."

"You did the right thing, Maze." Amenadiel placed a hand onto her shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "Speaking of Trixie, who will take care of her?"

"I'll call Dan," said Maze as she pulled her phone out and searched for Dan's number on her contracts.

That moment Linda walked back in. "So, to where we owe the pleasure?" she asked.

"Linda, Lucifer is gone," Amenadiel informed her. Linda's eyes grew wide open.

"What do you mean _gone_? As if in _gone_, gone?"

"Gone as if he went back to hell," said Maze before walking away to speak to Daniel.

"I can't believe this," Linda mused as she sat down next to Chloe. "Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked the detective who shook her head no. Maze gazed at the two of them as she waited for Daniel to pick up.

After that was taken care of, she approached Amenadiel who stood a few steps away from the couch. Chloe was in a pretty bad shape and the only one who could possibly help her was Linda. But as it seemed, Chloe Decker wasn't the only to be upset with Lucifer's departure.

"I can't believe he's gone," Amenadiel said.

"Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Maze snapped at him. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her and made her speak to him like that. It was probably the anger she felt towards Lucifer. Amenadiel looked at her.

"Yes, at first," he admitted. "But I realized he's happier than he's ever been down there. I just wanted him to be happy."

"Not everyone is entitled to be," said Maze.

"That's not true and you know it."

She let out a snarl. "Oh really? Amenadiel, look at Chloe. Are you fucking kidding me? Do you think she will ever be truly happy after that?" Amenadiel didn't respond. "Yeah, that's what I thought." she crossed her arms across her chest. "And don't start with that 'part of His plan' crap because I'm really about to snap."

The angel pressed his lips into a thin line. "Are you angry? At Lucifer, I mean."

"Of course I'm fucking angry at Lucifer!" Maze hissed. "Look what he did! He completely destroyed her. She will never recover from that one, I'm telling you."

"Does that mean you will never recover from Eve's fleeing then?" Amenadiel raised his brows.

"What does have to do with anything?" Maze asked, confused.

"Think of it. Both situations are similar, don't you think?" Amenadiel questioned. "But I believe it's not so much about Chloe, don't get me wrong. I know you care about both her and her daughter, but I think this is more about you."

Maze clicked her tongue. "Alright, fine. You wanna know something, Amenadiel? I'm so sick of people abandoning me every single time. First Eve and now Lucifer. Lucifer, the one that fucking promised me not to leave me behind when the time to return to hell came. But guess what? He did. So let's cut the bullshit here. No one cares about me."

She was angry and frustrated at everything and specifically tired of being abandoned by the people she cared most about. She thought she was past her dark days but she was just at the very beginning of them. She was in the middle of miles of clouded hell. What did she expect anyways? She was a demon, for crying out loud. She shouldn't expect anything more than this.

Amenadiel looked at her. "That's a lie, Maze, and both you and I know that."

Maze huffed but didn't respond.

"Lucifer cared out of all people more than you can possibly imagine, even though he had some really weird ways of showing it," Amenadiel continued. "And this is probably one of those ways. You fought against those demons, remember? If you had followed him down there, who knows what they could do to you."

"I can take care of myself," Maze snapped.

"I know you do. No one ever doubted that." Amenadiel raised his arms in defence. "But they would be too many, even for you to handle, and Lucifer wouldn't be able to protect you."

»Secondly, he knows how important it is for you to stay here. Would you willingly return back to hell with him knowing that Trixie, little Charlie, Linda, Eve, Chloe, Dan, Ella, heck even me, would be left behind?"

"No…" Maze trailed off, her anger finally fading away. Slowly but also steadily.

"See? You will never truly be left alone, Maze. Because too bad for you, we are planning on sticking around for a really long time and be a pain in your ass," Amenadiel joked and Maze chuckled.

"Yeah, I suppose you are right," Maze admitted.

"You were Lucifer's best friend and he only wanted what was best for you and everyone else here," said Amenadiel. "This was a choice he willingly made and he was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for all of us without anyone paying the price for it."

"Well, that last part isn't really true, is it?" Maze pointed at Chloe. "She truly loved him, Amenadiel. Despite the fact that she knew about his true nature, she still loved him."

"We all did." Amenadiel sighed. "It's going to take a while. But everything will turn out okay, you will see."

"I hope so…"

They fell into silence and the only sound that could be heard was Chloe's sobs and Linda's comforting words. Eventually, Maze spoke again.

"I heard you were looking for a job," she said.

"It's true. Though I haven't been really successful with that." Amenadiel scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Maze laughed softly.

"I think I might got something for you."

Amenadiel looked at her both in surprise and also in gratitude. "Really?"

Maze nodded. "Now Lucifer is gone, someone needs to take over 'Lux'. I know it's not really your thing but with a little bit of practice, I'm sure you'll do great. Hell, you're Lucifer's brother! I'm sure you have something in common."

"I will think about it," Amenadiel promised. "But what about you? Wouldn't you be a better successor of Lucifer for this job?"

"My bounty hunting career is far more satisfying than serving alcohol to strangers," said Maze, waving him off.

"Alright, whatever you wish." Amenadiel nodded. "Linda and I are looking for a babysitter. Not something permanent, just for a couple of hours until Charlie grows up a little. Do you think you could-"

"Auntie Maze always has time," Maze interrupted him. "Besides, I might need to stick around for a while to help out with Trixie, too."

"And what about your bounty hunting career that you love so much?" Amenadiel teased.

"There aren't always bounties to catch. It gets boring sometimes," Maze admitted. "There's one good thing coming out of all this."

"Which is?"

"Lucifer will owe me so much for babysitting his nephew."

They both laughed quietly. Maze never imagined herself agreeing with Amenadiel at literally anything but he was right about one thing; everything was going to be alright. It would take some time before they were remotely close to being okay but that was alright, as long as she was surrounded by her beloved ones. It was just the beginning of their dark days. But just like white, black can turn to grey too.

* * *

_A/N: This is my very first attempt on writing anything Lucifer related and Alston a gift to my best friend whose birthday is today 3_


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